Just Another Tech Blog

Linux 2.6.19 includes the clustering GFS2 filesystem ; Ecryptfs; the first experimental version of EXT4 (aimed at developers), support for the Atmel AVR32 architecture, sleepable RCU, improvements for NUMA-based systems, a "-o flush" mount option aimed at FAT-based hotpluggable media devices (mp3), physical CPU hotplug and memory hot-add in x86-64, support for compiling x86 kernels with the GCC stack protection, vectored async I/O, Netlabel subsystem, allow to disable compilation of the block layer, IDE Parallel-ATA drivers based in libata, Granular IPSec associations for use in MLS environments, add the Netlabel subsystem, Mobile IPv6 (RFC 3775), some new drivers, improved support for many already existing drivers, and many other things.

So go get it. It's one of those rare "perfect" kernels. So if it doesn't
happen to compile with your config (or it does compile, but then does
unspeakable acts of perversion with your pet dachshund), you can rest easy
knowing that it's all your own d*mn fault, and you should just fix your
evil ways.

• AMD Athlon 3700+ Socket 939 "SanDiego" core @ 2.2Ghz (thinking of overclocking)
• 1.5GIGs Ultra PC3200 DDR 400MHZ RAM
• ASRock DUAL-SATA2 Motherboard
• 250gig Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive 7200 RPM
• 40gig Hard Drive 5400RPM
• PNY Verto GeForce 6200 Graphics Card 128MB AGP 8x = (
• CD Burner + Seperate DVD Drive

• Graphics Card: To be replaced with an XFX GeForce 7600GT PCI-express (Christmas... i hope)
• Optical Drives: I NEED A DVD BURNER!!! Getting one within the next couple of weeks... Thinking about getting this one.

You've read more than enough already about how Novell and Microsoft signed an agreement that's supposed to help Novell sell Linux to Microsoft customers and help Microsoft customers integrate Linux -- as long as it's Novell Linux -- into their IT environments without fear of patent lawsuits. Part of the yammer was an open letter from Novell's CEO claiming that deal didn't really mean what you thought it did, followed by a statement from Microsoft that said Novell's CEO didn't really mean to say what he said or was wrong about some of it. Or something. Then Mark Shuttleworth jumped into the mess by offering a new, Microsoft-free home for openSUSE developers who didn't want to truck with Novell any longer because of its Microsoft deal. I don't know about you, but suddenly I'm starting to think Debian ought to be my GNU/Linux distribution of choice, and that I should turn to Mac OS for those few tasks I cannot currently accomplish with Linux and Free Software.

We took a look at Sabayon 3.0 a few months ago and were greatly impressed. The developers haven't taken a break since that time, and now 3.2 is upon us. We are diving in heads first to see what's new and what's been updated.

The development team handled a large number of bugs, updated a few packages - most notably D-Bus to version 1.0 (nearly no changes besides the version number) and Evolution to 2.8.2 - and included further translations. The areas that we had to work hardest on were the bootloader configuration and our software management stack.

• Linux Kernel 2.6.18.1
• glibc 2.5
• Firefox 2.0
• GNOME 2.16.1
• KDE 3.5.5
• X11 R7.2 RC
• both KDE and GNOME feature improved start menus compared to upstream
• improved desktop effects (compiz 0.2)
• OpenOffice.org 2.0.4

This tutorial explains how to set up and run Windows on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud Beta with the help of Qemu and Linux. This HOWTO can be adapted to install any guest operating system supported by QEMU. We have chosen Windows Server 2003 because they offer a free evaluation copy, but QEMU can be used for emulating other operating systems - including, Solaris, *BSD, Unix, etc.

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To stop the current job and return to shell prompt, press Ctrl+z.
To switch back to the text editor, again, I press Ctrl+z to stop the current job, and use fg - to resume.

This tutorial is about wardriving using GPS. It explains how to install Garmin Etrex on Ubuntu and how to configure it. It also shows how to use Garmin with GPSDrive and how to convert the data to an xml file which can be imported by Google Earth.

ATI'S R600 GPU features a number of innovations and improvements that are interesting, to say the least.
First of all, you need to know that this PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is the most expensive one that the graphics chip firm has ever ordered.
It's a complex 12-layer monster with certain manufacturing novelties used in order to support the requirements of the R600 chip, most notably the 512-bit memory controller and the distribution of power to the components.

Each distribution has some specific tools to build a custom kernel from the sources. This article is about compiling a kernel on SuSE systems. It describes how to build a custom kernel using the latest unmodified kernel sources from www.kernel.org (vanilla kernel) so that you are independent from the kernels supplied by your distribution. It also shows how to patch the kernel sources if you need features that are not in there.

• The Parts of a C++ Program
  
• Variables and Constants
  
• Expressions and Statements
  
• Functions
  
• Basic Classes
  
• Program Flow
• Pointers
  
• References
  
• Advanced Functions
  
• Arrays
  
• Inheritance
  
• Polymorphism
• Special Classes and Functions
• Advanced Inheritance
• Streams
• Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
• Templates
• Exceptions and Error Handling

Yes, the void has been filled! You will be able to install Fedora Core 5 on your PS3s right now if you have all the components ready! The void we're talking about here is the OtherOS Installer which has just been released by Sony on their Open Platform for PLAYSTATION site. So let us be the first ones to tell you how it's done. We're getting our own PS3 in a few hours and we'll make sure that you have the whole install process with pictures later on.

• PS3 Linux Addon CD - Burn it on a CD at a slow speed (4x - 16x)
• OtherOS Installer by Sony
• Fedora Core 5 PPC image (DVD) - Burn it at a slow speed (2x - 8x)
• HTTP Download - [here]
  
• Bittorrent Download - [here]
  
• More HTTP Mirrors - [here]

Instead of investing in particle accelerators here on Earth, physicists might consider just blowing up a few stars. New images taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory show how supernova remnant Cassiopeia A acts as a natural particle accelerator, firing out cosmic rays. As particles move around the remnant, they’re accelerated by the tremendous magnetic fields, eventually nearing the speed of light. The images from Chandra show that the particles are being accelerated to the maximum rate predicted by theories.

AMD has given us some more information about Fusion, albeit still a little vague on specifics as to exactly how a stream processing on the GPU would be leveraged. But if you thought CPU and GPU integration onto one die was just about low end computers, AMD is painting a different picture. CPUs with high powered stream processors onboard that utilize GPU power is the future that AMD sees.

Intrusions can take place from both authorized (insiders) and unauthorized (outsiders) users. My personal experience shows that unhappy user can damage the system, especially when they have a shell access. Some users are little smart and removes history file (such as ~/.bash_history) but you can monitor all user executed commands.

The term “hacker” has a dual usage in the computer industry today, it is best defined as:

HACKER noun 1. A person who enjoys learning the details of computer systems and how to stretch their capabilities—as opposed to most users of computers, who prefer to learn only the minimum amount necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.

Linus Torvalds was just 21 when he changed the world. Working out of his family's apartment in Helsinki in 1991, he wrote the kernel of a new computer operating system called Linux that he posted for free on the Internet — and invited anyone interested to help improve it.

The Samba Team disapproves strongly of the actions taken by Novell on November 2nd.

One of the fundamental differences between the proprietary software world and the free software world is that the proprietary software world divides users by forcing them to agree to coercive licensing agreements which restrict their rights to share with each other, whereas the free software world encourages users to unite and share the benefits of the software.

The patent agreement struck between Novell and Microsoft is a divisive agreement. It deals with users and creators of free software differently depending on their "commercial" versus "non-commercial" status, and deals with them differently depending on whether they obtained their free software directly from Novell or from someone else.

The goals of the Free Software community and the GNU GPL allow for no such distinctions.

Furthermore, the GPL makes it clear that all distributors of GPL'd software must stand together in the fight against software patents. Only by standing together do we stand a chance of defending against the peril represented by software patents. With this agreement Novell is attempting to destroy that unified defense, exchanging the long term interests of the entire Free Software community for a short term advantage for Novell over their competitors.

For Novell to make this deal shows a profound disregard for the relationship that they have with the Free Software community. We are, in essence, their suppliers, and Novell should know that they have no right to make self serving deals on behalf of others which run contrary to the goals and ideals of the Free Software community.

Using patents as competitive tools in the free software world is not acceptable. Novell, as a participant in numerous debates, discussions and conferences on the topic knew this to be the case. We call upon Novell to work with the Software Freedom Law Center to undo the patent agreement and acknowledge its obligations as a beneficiary of the Free Software community.

The countdown continues on the road to 10.2 with the latest release of beta 2 on the 10th. This release didn't bring too many surprises, but things seem to be shaping up nicely. In light of all the negative publicity of Novell's recent announcement, I imagine the pressure is bearing down on the openSUSE infantry to release a banner system. I wish them luck and I think they are on the right path.

I'm glad to announce the second beta of openSUSE 10.2 codename Basilisk Lizard. It contains a large number of enhancements and updates done by the open source community and Novell's development
teams.

See http://en.opensuse.org/Factory/News - and the ChangeLog file on the first media of each set for a detailed overview of changes.

We have fixed most of the annoying bugs of Beta1. I'm gratefull for a localized product and like to thanks especially the many volunteers that did the translations. Some of them came in too late to add them to Beta2.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and this ties in greatly with productivity. Windows has always done everything I've needed it to do, and moving OS offered little or no benefit to my productivity. It was just a lot of hassle and a steep learning curve.

However, around 18 months ago, I built a file server for my LAN, using a VIA Epia 800MHz motherboard and a couple of 200GB hard drives. With Windows installed, it was so slow that I had 10 or 20 second delays when trying to access the share across the network. The overhead of Windows was just too great for it to work effectively – odd for such a minor task. Finally I had the necessity and I decided to give Fedora Core 4 a go. Fedora is the free version of Red Hat, and is actually used on many web servers (including this one). It's use on web servers was a key reason to choosing this, as I wanted an environment that was similar to the Red Hat box I was used to, while also learning skills that could be transposed directly over to web server administration. Interestingly, a Fedora is the type of hat shown in the Red Hat logo (something a girlfriend of mine had to point out to me), so it is in fact a little play on words.

Installing Core 4 was painless and before I knew it, I had set up a fully secure file server that was almost instant to access. It was amazing how much difference in performance there was. When mapped as a network drive, it felt like it was a drive in my computer.

As we reported in September, a group of developers forked SUSE's Compiz compositing window manager to create a community-based project called Beryl. The new project has quickly become a popular choice for supporting the 3-D desktop effects that make the Linux desktop sizzle these days. I installed Beryl on Ubuntu Edgy and have been running it for the past week. I find Beryl impressive, but, predictably, unstable.

I figured the Red Sea had parted to allow Ron Hovsepian and Steve Ballmer to pass, holding hands and singing kumbayah.

Nope.

What I learned, once I got to my computer, was that Novell and Microsoft have agreed to do what the market has already been forcing them to do: interoperate and not sue each other. Am I missing something? Oh, yes. "Sales support." I'm not yet sure what that means, but I guarantee it doesn't mean doing anything to promote Linux, as Ballmer said:

"If you want something, I'm still going to tell you [to buy] Windows, Windows, Windows."

He has a fiduciary duty to sell Windows, Windows, Windows, and to partner with whatever companies he thinks will help him sell more...Windows and with those that help him kill...Linux. Which camp does Novell fit into? Not sure, but I don't think it's in Novell's shareholder interest to help Microsoft with either goal. This isn't about helping Linux (SUSE Linux or otherwise), but rather about killing the only real threat to Microsoft's dominance in the operating system market.

• Virtualization


• Web services for managing physical and virtual servers


• Document format compatibility